Diffusion Tensor Imaging Before and 3 Months After Concentrated Exposure Response Prevention in Obsessive-Compulsive
Vilde Brecke1, Anders Lillevik Thorsen1,2,3, Olga Therese Ousdal1,4
1Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
|June 14, 2021
Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treatment with exposure and response prevention (ERP) achieved high remission rates. However, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) did not reveal significant long-term white matter microstructure changes in OCD patients post-treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with subtle white matter microstructure differences.
- Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies suggest alterations in OCD, but changes after treatment remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate white matter integrity in OCD patients compared to controls.
- To examine changes in white matter integrity following concentrated exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized DTI metrics (FA, RD, AD, MD) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS).
- Compared 32 OCD patients and 30 controls at baseline and 26 OCD patients/22 controls at 3-month follow-up.
- Analyzed three bilateral regions of interest: sagittal stratum, posterior thalamic radiation, and cingulum.
Main Results:
- No significant baseline differences in DTI metrics between OCD patients and controls.
- No significant group-by-time interactions in white matter integrity after ERP treatment.
- Treatment outcome was not predicted by baseline white matter integrity; illness onset age also did not predict FA.
Conclusions:
- Concentrated ERP for OCD leads to high remission rates.
- DTI did not detect significant long-term white matter changes after ERP in this study.
- Future research requires larger samples and advanced DTI techniques for deeper insights.
